Interest is curling in St. Louis has risen over the last year compared to previous years when I set up this blog. At this rate. I can see an Open House sometime Next Summer if we can exceed 150 individuals wanting to try the sport.
If you are "interested in curling", fill out the form below and we will let you know directly when we have an Open House, Learn to Curl and League Play. (All information provided will be kept private and for club use only. You can unsubscribe at anytime)
Slideshow of last years bonspiel.
In three weeks, teams and individual curlers from Columbus (OH), St. Paul (MN), Omaha (NE), Chicago (IL), Austin (TX), Cedar Rapids, (IA) will travel to KC to compete in this FUN, Open (Either Gender or Age) Spiel. (No one from St. Louis Yet)
To show you don't have to be experienced to play in a spiel, last year, there were 2 teams made up of 2 experience curlers and 2 new curlers from Champaign, IL. One team made the finals of the 2nd event and won. The new curlers had truly never curled before, so their first time on the ice was their first curling experience. They arrived 2 hours before their match so they could learn the technique and where off and playing.
For those who may want to stop in and watch, The spiel start Friday night with the first draw at 7:00pm, 9:00pm, or 11:00pm. Games continue throughout Saturday with each team playing at least 3 matches and the winning teams will continue to play on Sunday with the final matches from 11:00am-1:00pm
Individuals as well as teams are welcome to sign up.
Details about the spiel and Signup can be seen by clicking here.
The Blues find curling is a little tougher than it looks as they "gracefully" slide on a different type of ice with no skates.
What person doesn't dream of Hollywood. Now you can see Hollywood dreaming of Curling as they take to the ice for the first time.
If you make it out to the west coast, check out their club and seeing if you can curl through their website at http://www.hollywoodcurling.org/
This year alone I have been contacted by 3 people interested in starting curling clubs in their own communities of Cincinnati, Ohio; Kalamazoo, Michigan and Bozeman Montana.
The trifecta to getting this started is
To see a map of all clubs surrounding St. Louis Click Here.
As far as finding a place to curl, St. Louis is somewhat in a blackhole for now, equally distant from 5 separate curling active clubs. But a day trip, overnight stay or weekend run is very doable if planned ahead. Here is a quick rundown of possible curling ventures you can make.
Over the next month or two, Curling Clubs here in North America will be conducting Open Houses at their local clubs to kick off their curling seasons.
In Kansas City, Their Open House is Sept. 16, 12p-3p. This is chance to meet the membership, try the sport, and enjoy the social atmosphere.
Look for a club in your area by checking this Link for Clubs in the United States.
Unlike rinks dedicated to curling, clubs that play on ice built for ice skating have unique challenges to overcome to help make a viable curling club. The United States Curling Association's Arena Curling Committee has started a forum to help arena clubs talk to each other and see what works and what doesn't.
If you have a question or simply want to learn more go to USCA Arena Curling Forum
For the most part, Summer is the time people forget about curling. Dedicated curling rinks generally close down for the summer. For an Arena clubs, Clubs curling on Hockey/Skating ice, this is a resource each club should not overlook. Ice time is easy to get since many rinks today are year round and need to fill the time rather than take out the ice and the times to curl at are better than what you might get during the winter months.
I was hoping interest in St. Louis would spur us to put on an Open House this summer so we can give St. Louis residents the opportunity to see what it feels like to slide a 42lb granite stone. But so far we haven't reached a critical mass or core group to help run the club to inspire us to bring our stones across the state. At this time, we will wait possibly another season. If you want to curl in St. Louis, fill the form to the left, leave a comment to this post, and or put yourself on the map so we know there is true interest and more importantly spread the word.
Here in KC, we have started to offer short 5 week Beginner Curling Classes and will start our second session July 10th. This offering has been a terrific success in getting new people out to try curling. They like the low pressure setting, short duration, and lower cost . In years past, we had been unable to fill a program but since the Last Olympics, getting a minimum number has been less of a challenge and many of these converts see what fun this sport is and have already expressed a willingness to continue their fun into our traditional winter season.
This Memorial Day Weekend, 4 of us from the Kansas City Curling Club formed a team and went to Colorado Springs CO to compete in the 2nd Annual High Altitude Bonspiel at the Broadmoor Curling Club.
16 team competed including a team from as far away as Cape Cod. They also had a team of curlers who helped start a club at the University of Denver and with less than one years worth of experience won the entire event as well as went to the College Nationals and Medaled there. You never know who will possess the natural talent to be a good curler.
There was another team of 6 that recently took their Learn to Curl class and made the bonspiel their first curling experience. They were filming the event and plan to make a documentary about 1000 days to the Winter Olympic Games.
In general the ice was a heavier than normal but this was their first time at this location and are working on plans to speed up the ice for next year but Overall it was a nicely run event, the weather and location were great and they plan to expand this event to 24 teams next Memorial Day weekend. It you think this is for you, I would recommend extending the weekend and take in the sites, there is much to do and see outside the event.
On the Horizon: At the event, it was told that the Denver Curling Club will restart curling in the fall.
A Bonspiel is a competition between Curling Clubs. In Kansas City , they will be hosting their 4th Annual Bonspiel with 10 teams from cities such as Des Moines, Omaha, St. Paul, Seattle, Columbus, Phoenix and Champaign, Chicago and Waltham, IL and 18 team overall.
No players from St. Louis. I beginning to wonder if the St. Louis area is a curling void, since I have yet to hear from any experienced curlers.
As one becomes a curler, they can travel to these bonspiel in other cities and compete for fun or money nearly any weekend during the winter months or some weekends during the summer.
If you are around KC the weekend of April 27-29th. Stop in and say hello.
Details: http://www.kccurling.com/main/Bonspiel.asp
The Trilogy to starting a curling club is a follows: Membership is the first key ( Which is the main intent of this website to generate that interest). Secondly, we need a Ice Rink willing to support playing. Finally, we need to have the money or loan in place to buy the equipment necessary to play.
A Club typically buys all the basic equipment necessary for any individual wanting to try.
A individual curler needs a slider and a broom but the overall club will need hacks, pebblers, scoreboards, benches, measure device, nipper or pebble crusher, not to mention the all important stones. Total cost per sheet can be anywhere from $2000-$5000 per sheet. And you will probably need 3-5 sheets worth to get started. This can be paid through membership or fundraising (adopt-a-rock programs).
The Kansas City Curling Club started with 3 sheets of equipment bought with funds from the original club and generous donations from individuals and companies. For $250, a name was inscribed on a stone handle to announce their generous contribution. Then after our first season, we used revenue generated the first year to purchase a 4th sheet of equipment. Much of our equipment had previous owners and we continue to update as we grow the club.
Every club needs experienced curlers to make a curling club work. Mainly, they are the individual who help new curlers learn the sport and provide the wisdom to any potential curler willing to serve on the board and help run the club.
Since creating this site over 3 months ago, We are finally starting to see a nice steady stream of activity including 15 people have taken the poll, more then 10 people have added their contact info to the form on the left , and 5 people have added their St. Louis Pin Locating themselves to the Map themselves. Most has occured in the last month or so. However, all those who have responded are people new to curling.
I have yet to get an Experience Curler to contact me. In Kansas City alone, there are over 100 experienced curlers who have contact our club whether they have played with us or not. Certainly St. Louis should have more than that. If you are one, Leave a comment about your past curling experience below. Where did you curl, how long ago, and did you enjoy it? If you want to Volunteer to help get this club going faster Let that be know as well.
Most clubs have some form of pin design, crest, or logo. This graphically identifies their club from other clubs and gives the general public a brand to remember. I challenge the St. Louis community to submit what they think the St. Louis Curling Club logo should enbody. All submissions will be posted here and people can comment on them below. When the club finally meets for the first time, the new membership can vote on the best design. To get your creative juices flowing, I submit some sample of other clubs designs.
Establishing reliable Curlers is the first key to a successful club since it helps pay for curling and keeps the club strong, but without a place willing to support the atypical needs of curling, there will be no curling. At our Discussions Page, I have posted the question "Where do you want to curl in St. Louis." Let your comment be known.
Below is a list of rinks, I found on the web. Are there more I need to know about? Is there a rink willing to help us put on a free Open House?
| Skating Rink Name | City | State | Telephone | |
| Affton IceRink | Affton | MO | (314) 849-0605 | |
| All American Sports Complex | St. Louis | MO | (314) 487-1711 | |
| Brentwood Ice Arena | Brentwood | MO | (314) 963-8689 | |
| Cahokia Ice Rink | Cahokia | IL | (618) 337-9521 | |
| Centurytel Ice Arena | Wentzville | MO | (636) 332-4600 | |
| Creve Coeur Ice Arena | Creve Coeur | MO | (314) 432-3960 | |
| East Alton Ice Rink Mgmt Inc | East Alton | IL | (618) 254-7465 | |
| Fenton Forum Ice Rink | Fenton | MO | (636) 349-7860 | |
| Florissant Ice Rink at the Florissant Civic | Florissant | MO | (314) 921-4470 | |
| Franklin Nelson Center | Springfield | IL | (217) 753-2800 | |
| Jordan Valley Ice Rink | Springfield | MO | (417) 866-7444 | |
| Kirkwood Ice Arena | Kirkwood | MO | (314) 822-5825 | |
| Kennedy Recreation Complex (South County) | St. Louis | MO | (314) 894-3089 | |
| Granite City Park District | Granite City | IL | (618) 877-2549 | |
| North County Recreation (Valley) | St. Louis | MO | (314) 355-7373 | |
| Queeny Recreation Complex | Ballwin | MO | (314) 391-0900 | |
| St. Louis Mills - (The Ice ZONE) | Hazelwood | MO | (314) 298-1500 | |
| St. Peters RecPlex | Saint Peters | MO | (636) 939-2386 | |
| U S Ice Sports Complex The Summit Center | Chesterfield | MO | (636) 537-4200 | |
| Us Ice Sports Complex Fairview | E Saint Louis | IL | (618) 398-4600 | |
| Washington Park Ice Arena (Jefferson City) | Jefferson City | MO | (573) 634-6580 | |
| Webster Groves Recreation Complex | Webster Groves | MO | (314) 963-5678 | |
| Wentzville Ice Arena | Gilmore | MO | (636) 332-4600 | |
Some amazing shots in curling.
A light hearted video about the Recreation Side of Curling
Have a Question? Leave one in the comment sections. I will add those questions here for others to read.
Hi, My name is Bill McBride and I am a member of the Kansas City Curling Club. You may ask, why is a guy in Kansas City working to get a club started in St. Louis?
Well, Since the 2006 Olympics, I have been contacted by many individuals looking for curling in the St. Louis Area as well as Witchita KS, Bartleville OK, and even Springfield MO. Despite the recent growth of at least 7 new curling clubs throughout the United States this year alone, Our club is still fairly isolated in the midwest. I figured if I was willing to get the ball rolling here in the Midwest, that St. Louis would offer the best opportunity to establish a club, being 1.5 times the size of Kansas City and having at least 4 times the ice rinks to establish ice time.
The key starting block to any club is building membership. A website like this takes no money out of pocket and creates a store front by which anyone can build interest and deseminate information. Which will give you a running start, before taking the next step of finding a rink to play on and purchasing the necessary equipment.
So add your name to our database by filling out the form to the left and drop your name and zip code on the frappr map below so we can visually see where the concentration of future curlers are located?
More importantly, spread the word, since that is what builds clubs faster than anything. It may take awhile for the public to find this site, but when your club reaches a sufficient number, I will gather our rocks and members and travel to St. Louis to help you put on an Open House. The Next Step.
